Expecting Choices
by LisaDawn75
Summary: Bella and Edward are enjoying a day in their meadow when something surprising shows up. One-shot. Set between Eclipse and Breaking Dawn.


**A/N: This one-shot idea came to me several months ago after reading the Personal Correspondence with Stephenie Meyer on the Lexicon. I finally got around to putting it on paper. The timeline is between Eclipse and Breaking Dawn.**

**Warning: This story contains some material regarding pregnancy that may be sensitive to some readers. Please do not read if you feel this may upset you.**

**No copyright infringement is intended. The Twilight universe belongs to Stephenie Meyer. I'm just playing in her sandbox.**

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_Mmm…mm-hmm. He's getting even better at this, if that's even possible. _I was actually surprised that I could string together a coherent sentence with Edward kissing me senseless. Practice makes perfect, I guess.

His lips continued to slide against mine, his cool breath washing through my slightly parted lips and making me dizzy. And he thought that the scent of my blood made him crazy. I didn't have anything on _him_.

"Breathe, love," Edward said to me, a smirk on his perfect face. Damn him.

"Mmm," was my articulate reply. "You should be ashamed of yourself."

"I should, yes. But I'm not." He slid his lips across my jaw line, causing me to shiver.

I felt my hands slide up his sculpted arms of their own volition and fist in his bronze hair. Male models would have killed for that hair. "I'm glad you're not," I breathed, feeling as if I were spinning through time. The sensation vaguely reminded me of getting a cavity filled as a child and the heady feeling the nitrous oxide gave me.

And he thought that _I_ was his personal brand of heroin. I was the one who was a total junkie.

He suddenly pulled back, his playful expression gone.

"Edward…what?" I looked into his amber eyes, but he was far away from me. I shook his arm, but I imagined that he did not even notice my attempt to get his attention.

"Shhh," he shushed me. "Someone's coming."

I blanched. I couldn't help it. I recalled the last time I had been in our meadow and someone had showed up. Laurent. And he was going to have me for lunch.

"Vampire?" I choked out in a whisper.

Edward's brows pulled together. "I-I'm not sure," he said, perplexed. "The scent is that of my kind, but her thoughts…"

I flinched at the mention of a woman. Victoria was immediately on my mind and I had to remind myself that she was gone. Finite. "Her?"

"It's a female," he said quietly, standing up and pulling me with him. "Stay behind me."

No problem.

"She's almost here. Whatever you do, please, don't say anything."

What did he think I was going to do? Engage this creature in a discussion. _So, tell me about your conversion…what do you remember? Any tips for me?_ Uh…no. "Gotcha."

Suddenly, a raven-haired beauty entered our meadow. I could tell immediately she was a vampire; however, she did not have the presence the Cullens had. She almost seemed…lost. And then I noticed something else about her that raised a million questions.

She was pregnant. Very pregnant.

Stay quiet my ass.

"What's your name?" Edward asked quietly.

"Amanda." Her voice had the musical quality I had come to associate with the vampire set. No human could sound that melodic without audio assistance. "Wh-who are you?"

Edward kept a tight grasp onto me, holding me behind him. "My name is Edward Cullen. I mean you no harm as long as you mean the same."

She shook her head. "No."

He relaxed his stance only slightly, his eyes straying to her protruding abdomen. "Who changed you? Who would do this to you while you're with child?"

Her beautiful features scrunched up, and I knew that if she had been capable of producing tears, she would have been crying her eyes out. "I-I don't know. My husband is gone… And her smell…" She pointed at me.

Her crimson eyes were wide with fear and panic.

Edward crouched in front of me. "She is mine and you will not touch her," he growled.

Amanda shook her head. "No, I won't. I-I know what I am, but I want to die. I have not hurt a human and won't."

He looked at her in bewilderment. "How do you know what you are if you don't know who changed you?"

She laughed bitterly. "Because right after I woke up, I killed a rat on instinct and drank its blood. I know what I am."

He nodded. "What have you had since then?"

Her eyes were shaded in deep purple, looking as if she had not slept for days, although I knew better. I was dying to ask her about her pregnancy, but wisely kept quiet. For now.

"Nothing."

Edward sighed. "You can't starve yourself. Why do you want to die? You can live this life by using animals instead of humans. Let me take you to my fath-"

"NO!" she screamed at him. "I WANT TO DIE!" Her voice bounced off of the trees surrounding us and I hoped no humans were within earshot. That would bring someone running.

Edward's face remained passive. "Why?"

She looked at him as if he had lost his faculties. "LOOK AT ME! I WAS PREGNANT! I WAS DUE TO GIVE BIRTH IN SIX WEEKS!"

"So you've retained some of your human memories."

"Amanda," I said quietly. "What happened to you?" Her plight was pulling on my heart. I had no desire to have children of my own, but I could not bear to continue staring at the horrible hand fate had dealt this expectant mother. The injustice of it all brought tears to my eyes.

"Bella," Edward said sharply.

Like he really expected me to stay quiet in a situation like this? Please.

Amanda collapsed on the ground, surrounded by the gently blowing grasses and wildflowers. She was a stunning sight, but this was one vampire I did not envy. "I don't remember it all. I was home alone. My husband – Casey – was working late, I believe. I-I don't know how it happened. One minute, I remember working in the baby's room and the next… Well, I was in agonizing pain, but I was scared, so I managed to crawl outside so Casey wouldn't come home and find me."

I gasped. Her story sounded so much like Carlisle's. "Then what?" I whispered, knowing Amanda would hear me.

Amanda raised her bright red eyes and met mine. They caused me to shudder involuntarily. "Then, after several days – I lost track of the time – I woke up and was like… this." She gestured to herself.

"If you're appalled at the idea of drinking from humans, you can survive on the blood of animals. My family does."

I was amazed at Edward's cluelessness. For someone who was basically perfect at everything, I had found the one thing he sucked at. Understanding women.

Amanda clutched at her long, black hair. "I don't want to survive! What part of that did you not understand?" she screeched, causing me to flinch. "I want to die. I've lost everything. My husband…my baby."

My heart hurt for this young woman. I wondered why Edward wasn't getting it. He could hear her thoughts, for Heaven's sake! "I'm sorry," I whispered, my eyes filling with tears.

Edward sighed. "You can't kill yourself. Trust me. And you won't starve, regardless of how long you go without drinking."

She dropped her head into her hands. "I can't do this," she whispered. "I can't be pregnant forever. I-I can't carry my child with me like this forever," she cried. "Please help me."

Edward slumped down finally. "What do you want me to do?"

"Kill me. Please," she begged.

Edward was speechless, as was I. I couldn't imagine the pain she had to be feeling, along with the newborn desire for blood that she was denying. But I also knew Edward – and I knew he would never agree.

"I can't do that."

Told you.

Amanda groaned. "Please, I'll do anything you want me to. I just can't live like this for eternity."

I understood. I knew what she wanted and why.

And part of me wished that Edward would grant her request so she wouldn't be in torment forever. "Edward," I whispered. "You have to help her."

He turned to me, his face full of disbelief. "By killing her? You want me to destroy another creature? I don't want to be a monster."

"Of course not. But…I don't know!"

Edward turned back to her. "Will you go with me to talk to my family? My father is a doctor, and maybe he can help you."

She nodded mutely.

Edward slung me onto his back. "Hold on tightly. I don't think she'll hurt you, but I'm going to hurry. She is a newborn, after all."

I guess he took my silence as acquiescence as he began running through the forest. He assumed Amanda would keep up.

And she did.

We arrived at the Cullens' house within moments, Amanda on our heels. We were met outside by Edward's family.

"Edward," Carlisle greeted him. "What's going on?" He looked curiously at Amanda.

Edward sat me down and gently pushed me toward Alice. He then motioned Amanda forward. "Carlisle, this is Amanda. She is a newborn, and as you can see, she was pregnant when she was turned. Have you ever run across this type of situation before?"

"Amanda, welcome," Carlisle greeted. "I'm so sorry for your situation. I can't say I've ever met one of our kind in your condition."

"I don't need pity, I need help," she said bluntly.

Carlisle nodded. "What can we do to help you?"

"You can kill me."

Carlisle looked overcome. "My dear, surely you don't mean that."

She nodded. "Yes, I do. I do not want to live like this" – she gestured at her swollen abdomen – "forever."

Esme stepped forward. "Dear, please think about what you're asking."

"Do you know what it's like to lose your child?" Amanda lashed out at Esme.

Esme looked stricken. "Actually, yes, I do. In my human life."

"Oh," Amanda replied, looking slightly deflated.

"Carlisle is a doctor, why don't you let him take you inside and look you over. If anyone can come up with something to help you – other than…that – then he can," Esme said with a shaky smile. I figured the mention of her lost son years ago had rattled her.

Amanda nodded gracefully. "All right."

xXx

"It won't transmit," Carlisle said, referring to the ultrasound machine. "The skin is like stone, and ultrasound waves will not penetrate."

His announcement sent a chill down my spine. How awful – to be stuck in a permanently pregnant state, knowing you would never meet your child. Ugh. "I'm sorry," I said to her quietly.

Amanda shook her head. "It's no more than I expected. So, will you help me?"

Carlisle sighed. It just wasn't in his nature to destroy any creature. I bet he rarely even stepped on a bug. I remembered his reluctance to kill James, the sadistic vampire who was after me two years ago. Carlisle was the only person I'd ever met who had such an understanding and appreciation for life. "There is no way to remove the child from your womb. I'm sorry."

"So you won't help me?" she asked, defeated.

Carlisle shook his head. "I'm sorry, but it's not in our nature to destroy."

I could see the depression settling over her. I wished there was something I could do, but I was helpless against a vampire. Edward had told me long ago that the myths for destroying a vampire were just that – myths. Basically nothing – and no one – could destroy a vampire except another vampire. "I'm sorry," I whispered again, frustrated at my pitiful attempts to comfort her.

"What if I tried to kill her?" she asked, pointing at me.

To say I was taken aback would have been an understatement. Damn near terrified was more like it.

"Don't take it personally," she said to me, her face a mask of sadness. "But I will get it done one way or the other."

_Take off to La Push,_ I wanted to say to her; however, my mouth would not work. I just stood there, gaping like a fish out of water.

"You won't touch her," Edward said coolly.

"I didn't say I was going to; I said what if I tried."

"Don't bother," Jasper said, his face twisted in what appeared to be pain. "I'll help you."

Carlisle and the family looked at him as if he had lost his mind. "Jasper?"

He shook his head. "I can feel how much pain she's in, and if the roles were reversed, I would hope someone would take pity on me, and put me out of my misery."

I knew that Jasper had had a different upbringing from the rest of the Cullen siblings – that he had spent eighty years training and then killing newborns for his then mate's army. But his announcement still shocked me.

Suddenly, I felt understanding and peace settle over me, and I knew that Jasper was at work, but I couldn't bring myself to care. All I could think about was that he was right.

If something had pulled me away from Edward forever, I would not want to live either.

And what does a mother love more than her child?

Absolutely nothing.

"You're sure?" Carlisle questioned, unable to see the fallacy of her argument anymore.

She nodded, scrubbing at her dry eyes. "Please."

Each Cullen nodded briefly, and Jasper said, "Follow me."

I watched as this frozen woman, bound to be an expectant mother forever, walked bravely to her death. After a few more moments, we all saw the thick, purple cloud of smoke wafting up out of the trees, and I heard a sob escape my throat.

I had cried for the Cullens before; that was nothing new.

But now my tears fell for the stranger who wanted nothing more than to join her child in the hereafter.

END.

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**End Notes: Reviews always make my day brighter. Please let me know what you thought!**


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